The Thirteenth
by the primrose path
Summary: If not for the timely arrival of Lea, Sora would have come out of his Mark of Mastery exam as someone else. But perhaps in another universe out there, the ex-Nobody did not quite get there in time, condemning the young Keybearer - and perhaps the worlds as they knew them - to the deep void of darkness... [ two-shot. / AU. / rated T for minor language. ]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**Disclaimer – I do not claim to have any kind of official hold on the Kingdom Hearts series or any of its affiliates, including but not limited to Disney and the Final Fantasy series.**

**Note – I don't intend for this to be an actual story, guys. It would flop epically if I tried. So you'll just have to enjoy what you get, which is a two-shot.**

* * *

**The Thirteenth**

* * *

"No. No, no, no."

Lea continued to mutter this under his breath as he fought his way through the corridor of darkness. Both Heartless and Nobodies impeded his way – the new Organization had apparently been expecting an invasion coming from this way too.

"I don't have time for this!" he growled, slashing at a pair of his old Assassins with flaming chakrams.

Xemnas – Xehanort, whatever – was playing a freaking stalling game. If the need to get to the others in time weren't a literally life-or-death thing and therefore seriously angering him, Lea would be looking on with modest respect right now.

He let out a vicious war cry as he blasted a rain of fire around himself, destroying most of the creatures and buying him some time that probably wouldn't last long.

"Damn it," Lea gasped out, sweat beading on his forehead. That flame took a lot of energy, and all the fighting hadn't helped. He hurried through the reforming mass of enemies, not even bothering to fight anymore. Avoiding attacks became the priority.

"Damn it, damn it, _damn it all_." The exit seemed so far, and Lea ran for it with desperation in his exhausted limbs.

"Sora... Roxas. I'm sorry. Looks like I broke my promise."

**. . .**

Riku grimaced and took a step back at the sight of Xehanort standing atop his white throne.

The old man summoned his Keyblade in a whirl of darkness, looking down at him and Mickey with a contemptuous smirk. "But first," he announced, "the thirteen darknesses must be united. All the seats have been filled, and now the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!"

Master Xehanort waved a hand towards the throne in which Sora lied unconscious, the seat then beginning to rise.

"No!" Mickey cried out, right before Riku's "Sora!" The two ran to intercept the throne before it could rise to its full height.

In response, two of the cloaked figures on the seats vanished from their place. As Mickey leapt between the white pillars to reach Sora, Xemnas appeared behind the small mouse and slammed him into one of the throne pillars with a hand, holding him down firmly.

Riku gasped and hesitated for a split second. That moment doomed him, Ansem suddenly introducing his face to the ground. Struggling, he could feel his cheek being grinded into the floor in response.

With a thunk, Sora's throne stopped rising. It was time.

Xehanort prepared his Keyblade, silent but for a chuckle, and aimed at the slumbering boy. There was a short pause before a golden pink sphere shot out of the dark blade, flying straight and true for Sora.

"No," Riku breathed from under Ansem's grip, unable to look away.

**. . .**

Master Yen Sid waited in the courtyard of his tower until the expected corridor of darkness appeared.

"Get outta the way!" a shout came from inside the swirling, noisy portal, and Master Yen Sid looked on with surprise when Lea burst out, coat torn and bloodied and carrying a limp King Mickey. He shot a huge blast of fire into the corridor, heat misshaping the air around it, before stumbling away to make room for a similar-looking Riku. Lea closed the door with a jerk of the hand, relaxing visibly after the deed was done.

Taking heavy breaths, Riku limped over to Lea and silently offered to assist with carrying King Mickey. The redheaded young man obliged.

"So I assume the mission failed," Yen Sid said sadly, talking slowly, as if it might postpone the horror of the answer.

Lea's knees abruptly buckled and he collapsed face-first onto the ground, Riku almost dragged down with him, acting as a sufficient reply by itself. The young Keybearer had to fall on a knee and lay King Mickey down onto the grass. He wiped his brow, looking exhausted.

"Sorry," Lea groaned, unable to do more than lift a soot-smudged hand before dropping it limply. "Just... beat. Sora's gone. Couldn't... stop them in time. Had to fight him... you saw just now." He shoved his face into the grass for a couple of moments before continuing in a muffled, tired voice. "The mouse is unconscious, needs some healing. We all need some. Sora laid down a bad beating."

Riku simply added a nod, confirming the ex-Nobody's words. "Sora... It wasn't him anymore," he finally said mutely, looking down at Mickey and his blood-smeared hands. "He was vicious. Bloodthirsty. It was like a darker side of him had taken control, and Xehanort's heart amplified that. Sora was... virtually unstoppable. What you see... It's what we suffered just trying to slow him down."

The Keybearer didn't add that it was also hard because they didn't want to hurt Sora. It didn't need to be said.

Yen Sid let out a slow breath, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them. He almost looked defeated. "Let's get you three inside. I'll activate the defenses. The Organization might've returned to their own times, but Sora and Master Xehanort will still be here. This way, we might at least get some warning."

Calling there several brooms, the enchanted sweepers helped support the two injured and carry King Mickey on a makeshift stretcher made of a bed sheet from the tower.

"Lea," Riku whispered, glancing over at him as they stumbled up the stairs. The old master was a bit ahead of them with Mickey's stretcher.

The redheaded man grunted back in acknowledgement.

"That was a Keyblade you summoned back there... right?"

Lea slowly turned to look at him and simply offered the flash of a weak grin in reply.

Riku smiled back fiercely. "We're not out of the game yet," he breathed, wincing at a misstep. "No matter what, we're beating Xehanort and getting Sora back. We can't let him win, even if it costs us our lives. I'm not letting him."

Lifting a stiff hand, Lea made a fist at him, silently speaking his approval. "Yeah," he wheezed. "Too much at stake."

**. . .**

"Kairi..."

Riku only watched her with sad eyes as rivers of tears streamed down her pale face. He didn't move to comfort her – he knew she needed some space.

Kairi's shoulders shook with quiet sobs. "Why?" she finally whispered, her voice cracking. "Why us?"

He didn't say anything.

"Why did Sora have to be chosen? Why are we the ones who have to stop this?" Kairi tried in vain to wipe the still-flowing tears away. "Couldn't it have been someone else?"

"No," Riku answered, handing her some tissues. She took them gratefully. "Sora's always been this kind of guy, you know that. Besides, it was all determined a long time ago, by people who fought the darkness when we were kids. Whether it was all by accident or not."

"Can't we just... give it up? Rescue Sora and leave."

"We can't do that," he sighed, placing his hands in his lap. "I have to stop Xehanort, whether it's with Sora or not. The worlds depend on it. If we run away now, we'll be on the run forever. There'll be no places to hide."

Kairi sniffed, her eyes and nose red but barely streaming anymore. She understood the situation – she wasn't purposely being cowardly, but fear for themselves and for Sora was making her think irrationally.

"I'm sorry," she eventually said. "It's just... Sora."

Riku sighed through his nose. "Yeah. I know."

The two sat there in silence for several moments before Kairi broke it.

"Can I... Is it possible for me to help?" she offered hesitantly. "I mean, I can wield a Keyblade. And I'm a Princess of Heart. I could help." Her voice had gotten stronger with each word at the prospect of having something to do with saving Sora.

She had felt left behind for so long. But now was the time for her powers to finally blossom. Kairi could feel it.

"I'll have to speak with Master Yen Sid about it first," Riku finally said, but his smile spoke differently. "You just need to wait. If it helps, I'll put in a good word for you. I'm a Master now, after all." The smile became a bit sad.

Kairi nodded in reply, trying to smile back but also reminded.

**. . .**

"Again."

He scowled at the command but furrowed his brow in focus, holding out a gloved hand. It took several moments, but a ball of pitch-black energy began to form within his palm. There was disapproval on the creator's face, however, when the dark orb refused to grow any larger than a baseball.

"No matter. I didn't expect you to overcome your previous nature as quickly as I had hoped anyway. Shoot it."

The cloaked person let out a breath before grasping the orb of energy like it was something physical and tossing it at a large rock with strange, glowing blue veins. It burst into wisps of shadow, splashing onto the dark stone like water – but the damage done once it vanished looked more like ice and fire.

"Good. Better than I had originally planned for. Work on it," – the hunched figure patted his companion on the shoulder and walked off past him – "Sora."

Looking up towards the rippling sea and the place's only source of true light, the turned young boy thought that he might've been here before, standing on the black sand and facing the same master. Something fluttered in his chest but was snuffed out quickly.

"I have to keep working on it," he muttered.

Without another word, Sora continued honing his newfound powers of darkness.

**. . .**

"The sky..." Aerith murmured, looking upwards into the clear blue uneasily as she paused in her gardening. Clouds were beginning to gather in the distance, roiling and stormy.

"Why does it feel so dark all of a sudden?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

**This last part will probably make this plotline feel very unfinished to you. I know it does for me; seriously, I wish I could make this an actual story.**

**But I hope you enjoy this last chapter anyways.**

* * *

"_I'm asking you, as a friend... Just... put an end to me."_

_[ ... ]_

"_Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."_

**. . .**

Sora let out a low groan, an intense headache pulsing in time to the beat of his heart. He felt terrible — his limbs disconnected, floppy and lifeless, his mind like squishy goo. There was absolutely nothing beyond those sensations, not even a stray thought.

Trailing off into vagueness, Sora simply floated, neither consciously aware of anything nor truly insensible.

It was like being on the edge of sleep.

He continued to drift like that for what probably felt like a long while, but was in reality only several minutes. What had originally disturbed him in his stupor eventually did so again.

This time, Sora became aware long enough to partially realize his situation, and he began to struggle against the thick fog clouding his mind.

For a few moments, it seemed that he would be overpowered, but Sora refused to let it happen. So he used his memories against it.

He used the memory of a taste that was both salty and sweet, with stone as his seat and a sunset rivaling all others before it.

He used the memory of a sea breeze and the sound of waves lapping against a shore, the smooth feel of a paopu fruit in his hands.

He used the memory of being content, of hanging out with his friends — him and the other two so close, they could have a whole conversation without saying a word.

The blank fog crumbled under the onslaught as easily as taking a knife to butter, and Sora surfaced from the world of sleep for the first time since the beginning of his Mastery exam.

**. . .**

Sora realized that someone was carrying him.

Blinking his eyes open, he could see nothing except the back of a black cloak. He then quickly took inventory of the rest of his senses and came to the conclusion that he was being carried over the shoulder, stomach down and head facing the back. It wasn't very comfortable.

There was the sound of an explosion, and his ride jerked to one side. Sora tensed, trying not to fall off, as he saw fire flare out of the corner of his eyes.

Oh, and he was apparently the object of some epic chasing.

"Finally awake?" a familiar voice asked him, and Sora unthinkingly attempted to look over in surprise. His carrier grunted. "Stop moving. It's hard enough carrying you as it is."

"Sorry." He flopped back down, hating that he couldn't see anything important. "But... Roxas?" Sora blurted, extremely confused. "What in the worlds is going on?"

There was a snort. The sounds of battle began to recede into the distance as they escaped through what felt like random alleyways. "What, you don't know?" Roxas asked.

"All I remember is..." Sora frowned, faintly recalling the younger Xehanort bending over him and telling him something. "... Beating Xemnas. Then sinking into darkness." At the last sentence, his sense of urgency appeared. "Wait, Xehanort said something about making me his thirteenth vessel! Did Riku save me? Is Xehanort chasing us? Wait, then why are you here?"

"Too many questions!" Roxas said, breathing hard. "First of all, Sora, you have the wrong idea. Riku didn't save you. Xehanort succeeded in placing part of his heart in you."

"What? But how?"

There was a pause. "I'm not sure. Your friends just failed, I guess." Sora noticed that he sounded almost sympathetic.

"But is Riku okay? You can tell me that at least, right?"

"Again, I don't really know. I can only see what you see. But he seems like the kind of guy who can take care of himself. Riku's probably fine."

"Yeah..." Sora stared down at the ground passing below him. It felt weird, seeing it but not moving himself. "But why am I here?"

Roxas seemed to hesitate. "A fluke of creation?"

"I don't mean that! Sheesh." Despite the exasperated tone, Sora was smiling anyways. "I mean, why am I being carried by you? It's not like Xehanort taking control of me kicked you out of my heart, right? By the way, I'm pretty sure I can run by myself now."

"Uh, wait a sec." Roxas seemed to swerve behind something, and soon Sora was standing up on his own legs. He stretched, finally getting his first look around, and frowned at the familiar-looking neighborhood.

"Are we in Destiny Islands?"

"Not really," Roxas replied, looking out around the corner of the house they were hiding behind. As expected, he was wearing an Organization coat. "To answer your last question, Xehanort's invasion didn't kick us out. In fact, we're actually in your heart. It just happens to look like your home."

"Okay..." Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, if I'm seriously here, does that mean Xehanort has full control of me? Have I hurt my friends?"

Roxas turned back to look at him, expression serious. "Honestly? Probably. Not full control, or else you wouldn't be with me, but outside, Xehanort pretty much has you dancing on his strings now."

Sora scowled, slumping onto the wall. "And I can't do anything about it."

"Well..." Roxas seemed to consider saying something, but he shook his head. "Look, I'm not really the kind of guy to explain all this stuff. Let's get you back to base."

"Back to where?" Sora asked, confused, but his Nobody was already taking off in a run away from the neighborhood. "Hey, wait up!"

**. . .**

Panting, the Keybearer struggled to keep up as they left the main island behind. It wasn't that he was in bad shape or anything — fighting and chasing Heartless and Nobodies and evil villains all the time kind of strengthened your muscles — but it just felt like he was getting tired faster than usual. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Xehanort possessed him right now.

Soon enough, Sora recognized where they were going. "The port... the smaller island?" he asked, putting on a burst of speed to catch up with Roxas. "We have boats?"

"Who said we needed boats?" Roxas simply said in reply.

Sora frowned but didn't keep pushing. Maybe his Nobody knew something he didn't.

As expected, they turned off in the right places and they ended up at the docks, the grove of trees on the companion island visible from there as a blotch of green on the horizon. Glancing around, Sora frowned. No boats.

"So what are we going to do now?" he asked, looking to Roxas for an answer.

The ex-Organization member flashed a grin at him. "Trust me. You'll like this." Sliding out a small brown pouch from one of his pockets, he waved a hand around it slowly like it was a magic trick.

Sora snorted. "Dramatic. But what's inside?"

Without a word, Roxas loosened the string tying it closed and reached in with a gloved hand. "Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it, okay? Besides, I don't want it to get in your eyes."

"Get in my eyes...?" Nevertheless, Sora closed his eyes as commanded.

There was a faint jingling sound that reminded him of tiny bells for a moment before a sudden sensation of lightness appeared. He definitely recognized this feeling.

"Fairy dust!" Sora exclaimed, looking at Roxas in surprise.

The cloaked boy was already sprinkling some of the golden powder onto himself, smiling the whole time. Pretty soon, both of them were floating in the air.

"Where did you get it?" Sora asked him, marveling at his flight. He hadn't been expecting this at all.

Roxas tapped the side of his head. "My own thoughts. This is your heart, after all. Like in a dream, you can make anything you want happen as long as the place is your own. It just takes a lot of practice and focus, and you have to believe in it with all your heart –"

"Like flying," Sora finished, grinning at him.

He smiled back, until a distant crash made him frown. "We should get going. What we've set up should make it really hard for Xehanort to find you, but only if you're at base."

"Which is on the play island," the Keybearer concluded.

Roxas nodded in reply and flew off in the direction of the far-away trees. Quickly following, Sora soon noticed that his Nobody, despite his mostly straight face, seemed both happy and sad as he about skimmed the water below.

People always told him he was dense, but come on; in Sora's opinion, he was pretty good at the emotion thing, especially seeing as he was connected to a bunch of hearts and all. Maybe he wasn't good at expressing his own, but whatever. If his vibes were right, it had something to do with the flying. But what –

Static suddenly crackled, somehow _behind_ his thoughts, if that made sense.

_Familiar cliffs — Neverland._

_A darting green blur spraying off golden sparks._

"_Here, help me show him." Roxas's voice. "Could you give us some more of that glowing stuff?"_

_More static interrupted the moment for a second._

"_See? I told you."_

_Static._

"_I can fly... I can fly!?"_

What the — Axel?

"Hey, you okay?"

Sora blinked at the sight of a gloved hand waving itself in front of his eyes. The static fizzled out, taking the weird vision with it. "Yeah, I'm good. Just spaced out for a second."

Apparently he had, since the two had both stopped in the middle of the water with no trace of a wake anywhere.

Roxas frowned at him, clearly knowing that there was more to tell. But he didn't insist. "Well, we need to go. The island's just up there — come on." He sped off, trailing the same golden sparks from before.

Sora eyed his Nobody thoughtfully for a moment before following, seeing for himself the island towering not too far away.

He had a nagging suspicion that what he had just seen had definitely happened. No wonder Roxas had chosen the fairy dust as their mode of transportation: it held good memories. Sora could understand that. The only question was how he even knew this in the first place.

As soon as that thought posed itself, he had a weird feeling. It was like déjà vu — like when there's something on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't remember it.

Almost like a dream.

Frowning, Sora went faster to catch up with Roxas, his musing having slowed him down. He would have to wait until later to figure this out. Priorities first.

**. . .**

Touching down onto the connected mini-island, Sora felt a pang of sadness as he looked around. Everything was familiar and exactly right, down to the grains of sand on the beach and the timing of the waves. He just knew it somehow, and it hurt to remember that he wasn't going to see the real thing anytime soon.

"I'll just have to beat Xehanort first," he muttered to himself.

Roxas was already setting off at a brisk pace, barely pausing by the crooked palm tree before crossing the bridge.

Hurrying after him, Sora drank in the island around him like he hadn't been back in forever. It certainly felt that way. His Mark of Mastery Exam couldn't have started only a week ago... So much more was different already.

So it caught him off guard when a terrible force racked his brain. It wasn't so much painful as absolutely mind-crushing, and Sora fell down the stairs he had just started descending, now virtually senseless.

A voice reacted in worry, but the words were so distant, he couldn't make them out, much less respond to them.

Sora passed out, unaware that something much more disturbing than his current situation was about to greet him.

_[ ... ]_

"_Sora! I know you're in there!"_

_A silver-haired young man stood in front of him, looking worn and a bit bloody from fighting. His Keyblade stood in stark contrast, haloed in a faint white light despite its dark color scheme._

_A castle loomed behind him, one that Sora recognized as Hollow Bastion's._

Riku?

_Unbidden, Sora's hand moved into view and began to summon something. His breath was taken away in shock._

What? But... That's not my Keyblade!

_The unfamiliar weapon assembled itself out of a swirl of darkness, floating under his hand in the brief moment before he grasped it. Pointing it straight at Riku, Sora began charging a dark orb at its end, fueled by shadows crawling down his arm._

""_He's" not inside _— _I'm right here," came out of his mouth. "Come on, Riku. You don't know your own childhood friend when you see him? Such a shame. Maybe we weren't very close after all."_

No — those aren't my words! Don't listen to him!

_But his mouth kept moving of its own accord. "You should just give up, Riku. I've seen what Master Xehanort is planning. No matter what you or any of the others do, you can't stop him. Just join me _— _us. I don't want to have to hurt you."_

"_Then don't. Come back with me, Sora." Riku's blue eyes softened. "Master Yen Sid can help you. We can destroy the part of Xehanort inside you. You won't have to follow his commands anymore... And Kairi's waiting for you to come back home."_

Kairi...? ... Yes, yes! Please say yes!

_For once, his thoughts seemed to get through. Sora's lips mouthed the words, but no sound came out. His abomination of a Keyblade wavered, his arm trembling between holding it up and lowering it._

_Riku saw all of these things, and his face lit up with hope._

_But then Sora's tenuous grasp slipped against a mental force much stronger than his own._

_His blade's position calmed, and his previously conflicted expression settled into a knowing smirk. Even worse, a wall of glass seemed to block his mind, and it was shoving him away from the conflict. There was no breaking through._

No... No, no, no!

"_Sorry to disappoint, Riku. But I'm going to have to reject your generous offer. Nothing personal _— _but Master Xehanort wouldn't be very happy with me." The orb of darkness finished charging, now the size of a blitzball. "Oh, and you're in my way. For the sake of our old friendship, I'll give you one chance to leave without a fight. If you say no... I'll make it quick."_

_The scene dissipated before Sora could make out Riku's response, him pounding on the glass wall the whole time._

**. . .**

"Riku!"

Sora found himself sitting up, panting as if he actually had been exerting himself for the past couple of minutes.

Blinking, he then took in the fact that he was on a mostly stripped bed — only a white sheet covering the mattress — surrounded by dark walls of stone. The room was bare except for him, the bed, and a person in an Organization cloak sitting in a chair nearby, who was staring at him in surprise. At least, he thought they were. The hood covered their face enough that he couldn't make out any defining features, eyes and gender included.

"Um, hi?" Sora greeted awkwardly after a moment of silence.

The person didn't respond. Instead, they turned to look at the wide-open entrance to the room as if waiting for someone.

Frowning, Sora just turned to watch too.

A couple of seconds later, someone who looked astonishingly like Roxas hurried into the room, metal boots clacking. The only difference was the absence of the black coat and a Keyblade that was both dull grey and being held backwards — definitely a style that Roxas didn't wield.

"What's going on?" he said anxiously, looking at the two. The stranger blinked. "Oh. You're up, Sora." His Keyblade disappeared in a blaze of white light, and he walked over. "You remember everything before you passed out, right?" he asked seriously.

Sora nodded in reply, unsure of what to say. Eventually: "You're not Roxas...?"

"Nope," the stranger answered, popping the "p" with a smile. "But we do kinda look like twins," he admitted, gesturing at himself. "Guess it's from how I was in your heart when he was created."

"What?"

"Oh, you don't remember that," he said, sheepishly grinning. "You let me in twice. Once when –"

The other person, whom Sora had honestly forgotten about, silently interrupted by laying a gloved hand on the guy's shoulder. "Not too many secrets at once," the stranger said softly.

Curiously enough, he forgot what the person's voice sounded like almost immediately after they spoke, and the specific words quickly blurred into a vague impression. Sora frowned at them severely, not even able to remember what gender the person sounded like.

The other guy didn't seem to have too much of a problem. Or at least, if he did, it didn't show. "Yeah, I know," he assured his companion before turning back to Sora. "Anyway, you feeling okay?"

"Yep," the Keybearer replied, stretching his arms over his head before sliding right off the bed. "Can you show me around...? Hey, what is your name?"

The guy laughed. "Oh yeah. It's Ventus," he replied. "But you can call me Ven, for short." Ventus tapped the side of his head. "Get it memorized."

**. . .**

"And as for a kitchen, we don't really have any food, so..."

"You don't have food?" Sora asked, his expression one of horror. "How do you survive?"

"Well, we don't need food," Ventus explained, guiding him to the last part of the tour. "As long as you're here, you're never going to get hungry, so why have it in the first place?"

Sora groaned dramatically, his mind clearly still on the "no food" part.

Ventus rolled his eyes, but he couldn't resist smiling.

"And here is the main room, where the exit is," he said, gesturing to the end of the tunnel.

Walking inside, Sora blinked, the lack of food in this place forgotten. He knew the stone seemed familiar. "But... this is..."

"The secret place, right?" Ventus laid a hand on a stone, this one bearing a scratched-in symbol that made Sora think of the Nobody and Heartless ones.

"Y-yeah. But how is it so large? And with a tunnel system?"

He looked around in wonder, noticing that the room was at least double the size of what he remembered, more sketches going along with it. There were also a couple of other tunnel entrances, and the room clearly went on farther back.

"Naminé helped set it up for us," Ventus explained. "Not very long ago, maybe a day or so. She managed to connect with us — yeah, it's possible. But that can be explained later."

"Anyway, we figured that we should set up something just in case, well..." Ventus gestured that it was obvious. "As a failsafe, even though we had faith in your friends at the time. She also did the neighborhood thing — your heart is usually just this island — so that when Xehanort came by, he would have to get through a maze of buildings and trees first. We get a free pass, of course, but it's going to take that crotchety old man a long while to get through, even if he tries to destroy it all instead. Hopefully long enough for the guys on the outside to do their work." He smiled. "Naminé did a pretty good job in such a short time."

"It is kind of her gift," Sora said, glancing around him at the continuing cave. "But it hasn't messed around with _me_, has it?"

Ventus frowned. "Naminé didn't mention anything like that, so I don't think so. But a little bit of rearrangement has to be better than Xehanort capturing you, right?"

Sora nodded, but he was still concerned. Just because he didn't actually remember Castle Oblivion didn't mean he wouldn't mind if it happened again.

Looking over at the vine-covered exit, Ventus frowned and went to peek outside, clearly gazing upwards as if telling the time by using the sun. "It's almost my turn to distract Xehanort. Roxas will be around any minute now to watch you, so I'm going to go ahead and leave early."

"I can take care of myself," Sora said, a bit affronted.

"Yeah, normally." Ventus ducked back in to eye him. "But your Keyblade might not be around when you really need it. You, on the outside, will probably be using it a lot. There's only one of them for you."

Sora felt a bit disturbed by the idea. It's not like he expected the legendary weapon to come at his every beck and call, but... well, actually, yeah, he kind of expected that. It hadn't failed him for a long time. Knowing that it might now just didn't feel right. He virtually had to rely on other people for protection. His main weapon, his way of fighting back, was the Keyblade — nothing else even came close.

His pride was currently being taken down a notch.

Exhaling slowly, Sora nodded. "Right. Didn't think about that," he said sadly.

Ventus shrugged, an understanding expression on his face. "Sorry." He paused before passing through the curtain of vines.

Staring at the exit for a moment, Sora sighed before turning around. A thought suddenly struck his mind, and he slowly walked towards the back of the cave, examining the scratches on the walls as he did so.

It didn't take long until Sora had reached the very end, relieved to see what he had been looking for — the drawing of him and Kairi sharing a paopu fruit on one of the lower rocks. It was exactly as he remembered it.

Kneeling down in front of it, he brushed his fingers over the familiar scratches, bundles of both old and more recent memories coming with it. Sora smiled nostalgically.

Standing back up, the Keybearer noticed that the cloaked stranger from earlier was sitting by the wooden door also in the back, knees up and gazing right at him. He realized that he didn't know how long they had been there and blushed slightly, unsure of whether or not it would be smart to blunder through an excuse.

"Hey, Sora?" someone called out, the words distant and echoing.

"In deeper!" Sora shouted back.

A few seconds later, Roxas showed up. As soon as he could be seen though, the Nobody came to a complete halt, uncertainty flashing across his face.

"You okay?" Sora asked, concerned.

Roxas, eyes clouded, blinked at him before shaking his head like a dog shedding water and finished walking over. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Anyway," he said, tone turning brisk, "I passed Ven on my way back. He told me that you two went through the grand tour, right?"

Sora nodded, but he couldn't get a word out before Roxas started up again.

"So this is how it'll go," he continued. "Me and Ven will be taking turns patrolling, messing around with Xehanort to slow him down. If he gets closer, we try to lead him away. As for you, you hide out in this cave here and don't even poke your head out." Roxas was beginning to remind Sora of strangely, Axel.

The guy gestured behind Sora, making him glance back. The sight of the stranger took him by surprise yet again. He'd completely forgotten they were there. "She's back-up, in case of any trouble."

_The person's a girl,_ Sora noted carefully. He didn't feel like forgetting that after finally learning it. "But why do I need back-up?" he asked doubtfully. "Just because I can't rely on the Keyblade doesn't mean I'm defenseless."

Roxas sighed. "We have reason to believe," he replied, "that Xehanort can... disable you when he finds you. And he will find you. It's only a matter of time, unless Riku gets here first."

"'Disable'?" Sora's situation really was not looking up. "That sounds bad. I guess that means I won't be able to fight back, huh?"

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence, almost immediately interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

Sora jumped in surprise as the cloaked per— _girl_ walked up from behind him and approached Roxas. Frowning, the Nobody listened as the girl took his hand and said a few sentences. The words flew out of Sora's grasp again, leaving him only with the impression that Roxas hadn't told him something yet.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

Roxas looked unwilling to say. "It's... our last resort plan," he admitted after a jab in the shoulder from the girl. He took a step away from her. "I didn't want to tell you unless Xehanort was right on our doorstep but..." He gestured at her, scowling, while she crossed her arms as if in indignation.

Sora smiled briefly at the sight. "And what's so bad about the plan?" he asked.

"It's our last resort for a reason, you know," Roxas said. "Basically, well..." He gestured, and Sora looked back at where he was pointing.

The door.

"... you open it and walk through."

Sora blinked. "And how is that bad?" Then possibly the reason why occurred to him. "Wait, where does it lead to? Back at home, it opens up the island's heart."

"That's the thing. Here, walking through... It casts your heart out. You'll leave your body behind. And unless you're close to someone your heart is connected to on the outside, you'll have nowhere to go and probably end up becoming a Heartless."

"So basically, don't go through that door," Sora concluded.

"Not unless there's no stopping Xehanort," Roxas agreed.

Sora contemplated his situation for a few silent moments before he realized something. "What about you and Ven?"

"What about us?"

"If Xehanort gets here, won't you... well..."

"Get killed?" Roxas finished. "I don't think we can die here."

"So what, I just leave you to Xehanort?" Sora shook his head. "No way. Even if he can't kill you, that doesn't mean he can't hurt you."

"Maybe. I'll take my chances."

"Come on, Roxas! Why are you being so... so suicidal? If he gets here before Riku and the other guys save us, you can just go through the door with me. You and Ven and that girl! It has to be better than staying here."

Roxas's face darkened. "We can't leave."

"Stop being so stubborn –"

"I'm not." His voice was hard, clipped. "The door won't open for us. If it could, don't you think we might've left already?"

Sora winced. Whoops. "Well, maybe I could just hold it open for you —?"

"Sure. You could try. But I don't think it would work. We would probably end up being stopped by an invisible wall." Roxas couldn't quite keep the scorn off his face as he turned away, his voice leaking disappointment into the words despite his attempt at restraint.

Oh. Sora felt stupid. "Roxas, it's... well, you're... uh, I mean, um, Nobodies are, uh, more than just shells. I — we were wrong. And I'm sorry," he said with hands waving wildly, hashing through an apology.

There was a snort. "All of that is old news. It's fine," he replied shortly, turning back around but gaze still averted. After a second of silence, Roxas's eyes flickered to the girl. "Take Sora to the last resident, will you?"

"Last resident?" Sora asked, thankful for the change of topic.

Roxas waved a hand, turning yet again to face away from him and towards the door. "You'll find out soon enough. You should recognize him as soon as you see him, after all."

The Keybearer was puzzled. He couldn't think of anyone else he knew that would be in his heart... unless something happened he wasn't aware of? Not to mention that Roxas's reaction kind of bothered him. Hadn't he made peace with being a Nobody? Nevertheless, he followed the cloaked girl as she beckoned him towards the main cave again, heading down a side tunnel.

**. . .**

The girl said something. The words flew away again.

Sora blinked and glanced over at her. It had been silent for the past minute as they had walked, shadows dancing in the light of the occasional hanging torch, so he had been caught off-guard. "Sorry, but what did you say?"

The girl sighed, which Sora had no problem hearing. Her taking his hand, though, he didn't notice until he felt her fingers slip into his own.

"Whoa, um, I kinda have a girlfriend, and –"

"Don't worry. It's not like that."

It was a moment before Sora had a double take. "Wait, I just heard you! Uh, well, not that I couldn't hear you before, but I couldn't, uh, understand you."

He got the distinct impression that the girl was holding back laughter.

Dang it. Why couldn't he be suave like Riku?

"It's fine. These days I usually need physical contact to be heard." She turned back to looking down the tunnel. "And what I said earlier: I was apologizing. For Roxas."

"What do you mean?"

"He's always... more bitter, I guess, when he's in his Organization cloak. He's usually much happier, but that's in his town clothes. So his attitude right now... isn't so great."

Sora nodded, though he was frowning. What, did the way he dress in the morning change him or something?

"It's the memories, I guess," the girl continued like she could read his mind. "We're Nobodies, after all. With no heart to depend on, our memories are what make us _us_. And here, what we are on the inside tends to show on the outside."

Sora was starting to get it. "So when Roxas is thinking about the Organization — his life there and stuff — he "changes" into that cloak?"

"Kind of." She led him down a side tunnel. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

"So what about you then?"

The girl faltered for a second. "What about me?"

"Well, you're dressed in a cloak too. You talk about Roxas like you know him. Were you guys in the Organization together or something?"

"...Yeah. We were," she replied softly.

Sora waited for more. When it didn't come, he prompted her again, curious. "Did you know Axel too then?"

"We were... on good terms. The three of us."

There was silence for a few moments as he pondered this new information. The tunnel lightened, signifying that they were almost to the last resident. Then something occurred to Sora. "Hey, why exactly are you in my heart?"

The girl didn't reply.

"I mean, Roxas is in here because he's my Nobody. If you were a Nobody too, then why didn't you go back to being you?"

She only shook her head.

Sora looked at her closely. "You know, you've never shown your face, not once. Not even when Roxas or Ven was around," he observed. Bits clicking together in his mind, he briefly considered if it was because she had no face — that what he was first told about Nobodies was true in her case, and that she really was just an empty shell.

But that couldn't be possible. All of the original Organization that he'd met had been weird and mostly evil, sure, but they were still kind of people. They had their own thoughts, and Sora definitely remembered Xemnas telling him during his Exam that they could've even grown new hearts. Roxas and Axel were obvious examples.

So if the girl he was holding hands with had been "on good terms" with them, wouldn't she be like them too?

But Sora didn't voice any of this. It would be mean, first of all, to suggest that she was an empty shell. (Hey, sometimes his brain actually did work!)

"So... why?" he finally asked.

She didn't respond until they had reached the end of the tunnel, where an illuminated curtain was hanging only a step away. Then she paused and turned to face him.

"It's complicated," she said quietly. "And I can't explain. Not yet. But you must have noticed how uneasy Roxas is around me. ... That's part of the answer."

And for a second, a face flickered over the dark, emotionless hood, too quick to make out much more than short black hair and a sad expression.

Sora opened his mouth to say something, shocked by both the sudden change and her face's almost uncomfortable familiarity, but the girl had already taken her hand away from his and moved to brush away the curtain. She spoke, her words again unable to be understood.

"Thank you, Xion," a man replied. "It's about time."

Jaw now almost to the floor, Sora really thought he needed to stop being so surprised in his own heart when he recognized the voice.

"Hello, Sora," Ansem the Wise greeted pleasantly, a contrast to the grim set of his face as he pulled his fabric doorway back. "I wish I could say it was nice to see you again, but under these circumstances, the complete opposite would've been preferable. Come in, please. We have much to talk about."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hmm. I just realized that this is currently the longest chapter I have ever written so far. Yay.**

**And yes, I am totally ending it on that note. Who can say that Melody does not know how to provide a painfully tempting cliffhanger that is almost certain to not be continued? /is shot**

**But seriously — I hope you enjoyed, guys. And who knows: maybe I'll continue this storyline somehow. It just won't be on this two-shot.**

**Thanks for reading, and see ya next time.**

**~ Melody**


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